Sounds like Jerry was thinking Duprees and then made a right turn into High Time. Cant recall if I was at this show or not.

This rock n' roll party began with a surprise opening set by Olatungi and the Drums of Passion who had a record with Mickey Hart coming out around that time. That was cool but did not portend any particular musical direction on the headliners part and sadly, no collaborations.

They come straight out of the gate with a typically strong '87 Touch into a highly atypical stand-alone Scarlet, which puts the crowd on high alert. I know I was. I wanted a High Time and got it though I didn't appreciate this stately beauty at the time, thinking it too straight-ahead. There were things I missed about the pre-coma days. Very generous Let it Grow that makes you forget where you are comes with a bonus Don't Ease, one of those Don't Ease's that make you wish they wouldn't put down the instruments just yet b/c they are so dialed in. But they do. Second set.

We worry that the Scarlet in the first set would mean no "big" songs in the second set. Having been at the Providence shows, I was less enthused with Devil with the Blue Dress in the second set than the New Yorkers in my section, but then I had liked the outcome of the previous world series less than them too. He's Gone is great though and Jerry breaks new ground in the outro section. The speedy, rushed in the big city vibe seems to return by space. It's almost like they're on something. Jerry plays science-fiction, confusion riff sbackwards and forwards in space with trucks into Truckin' with the grace of a runaway rig with fewer than four wheels. Obligatory seedy 87 "crack" reference in Truckin', a not-really improvement on the tone deaf "sex change" joke of the early part of the decade. A joyous post drums though. It had that special audience/band bond running strongly throughout the whole show that shows sometimes have. NFA had everyone in the place engaged and rocking. Whatever the GDTRFB thing was suppose to signify I don't know, but it seemed like it was supposed to be an acknowledgment via instrumental WBYGN of this bond. Black Muddy River is always great. This one is almost as great as the one from Saratoga this year.

Thursday was the day off, so I decided to drive to Philly for the heck of it. Turns out it was a celebration of the 200th annivesary of the Constitution and Reagan and Warren Burger spoke, so that was a bonus. Parking on the street and thinking I would not get towed was not something I got bonus points for though. That was Friday morning's expensive adventure...

Any show that begins with the band setting us up for an adventure such as the Touch>Scarlet opener can't be called overrated.

We all love the magical organic shows where the band is hitting on all cylinders, perhaps even surprising themselves. But equally enjoyable are those shows where you witness the thought the band puts into creating the setlist and then goes out and tries to flawlessly execute it. Effort is on display. This is one of those shows.

I sang a little while and then flew on.

Wow... interesting set list. Brent brought a lot to the band.... lots of energy & fun. Great recording! Thanks Charlie Miller. (I think I worked with you Charllie. For a short time in a drafting department in Garden City... early 80's)

JayRo, this show isn't overrated - the band always pulled out all the stops when they rolled into NYC. It's NYC for f#$%'s sake and one can bet that Jerry wasn't telling the band to play a crappy show. You're a fool JayRo and don't let your momma tell you otherwise. I'm sick of ignorant pundits like you criticizing performances that you weren't even present for.

Charlie M, thanks for posting this. It was a great show that night in NYC.

Nice song selection and high energy/anticipation during beginning of 1st set, but nothing spectucular happened. JG vocals are a little rough, especially during a decent Touch>Scarlet opener and High Time. Nice guitar work in Little Red Rooster despite some technical issues which make BW guitar sound not quite right at some points. The remainder of the show is average at best. Another of the late 80s/early 90s MSG shows I've been listening to lately which have been overrated on this site.

A good show. Brent was having a ball it sounds like. I like 9-18-87 better myself. I am always amazed when I am the first to review a Charlie Miller remaster. The sound is good.